I think I've said it before, but I'm surprised at how many dog custom portraits I've done since the holidays. Cats have been the most popular requests in the last few years till now. Here are the latest commissions I finished recently.

In my quest to find more pencils to use, I recently purchased a small set of Derwent Coloursoft colored pencils. I've been so pleased with Derwent that I keep on trying more of their supplies.

So today I decided to give it a go. I must admit that I've been addicted to the fabulous Prismacolor Premier colored pencils for years. I use them ALL the time. I love their softeness and how you can layer them, and blend them. Their rich colors are amazing. I tried several other brands of colored pencils, but never found one I liked enough to want to switch. So I was not very hopeful with the Derwent Coloursoft.

I gave the Coloursoft the ultimate test, in my opinion, and used a sheet of my beloved black Stonehenge paper. I thought if I could make the colors of the pencils stand out as well as with the Prismacolor, I would be pleased. Well, I was! Not only was I pleased with the vibrant colors, but I was also happily surprised by the softeness of the lead. The tip glides on the paper with a lovely buttery feel. I would say they are almost like soft pastel pencils.

The Coloursoft pencils cover the paper very well and quite fast. They blend together nicely, and don't leave that pesky residue on your paper, like the Prismacolor pencils do. The leads are easily sharpened and the sharp tips don't break. I LOVE them!

Although I will continue using my Prismacolor pencils because they are awesome! I will definitelly work more with the Coloursoft pencils. They are so smooth, and really lovely to work with.

As you may remember, I decided to use a sheet of Art Spectrum Colourfix paper to draw this one. I didn't really like it very much because it's a very rough paper, in my opinion. It really eats up the pastels, and leaves a lot of dust. So I wasn't very excited to continue working on it, and since I got very busy over the holidays with custom portraits, I happily put it aside. However, this year is the year I decided to finish all my unfinished paintings. So I just had to suck it up!
After forcing myself to get back to it, and finish it, I started getting used to the roughness of the paper, and figured out how to handle it. It's still not my favorite, but I must say, it really holds a lot of layers!

I did a few ACEO special requests, and a larger drawing too. I've also been working on finishing some of my paintings. So the final coat of my cherries is drying, and I'm hoping to finally be done with my flamingo this weekend. So I guess I'd better be going soon.